Reading 11+ past papers
About the Reading 11+: Reading Boys' and Kendrick Girls' use the consortium test.
Below you'll find every Reading practice paper currently catalogued on 11Plus Vault, grouped by subject. Each entry links through to a study page with timing, topic breakdown and mark scheme notes — written specifically for parents who are sitting alongside their child rather than for tutors. If you're new to Reading's arrangements, start with the highest-year paper for each subject (it best reflects current question style) and work backwards.
Maths
| Paper | Year | Provider | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading 11+ Maths Practice Paper (2012) | 2012 | Durham CEM | Foundation |
English
| Paper | Year | Provider | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading 11+ English Practice Paper (2014) | 2014 | Durham CEM | Standard |
Verbal Reasoning
| Paper | Year | Provider | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading 11+ Verbal Reasoning Practice Paper (2022) | 2022 | Durham CEM | Stretch |
| Reading 11+ Verbal Reasoning Practice Paper (2019) | 2019 | Durham CEM | Stretch |
Non-Verbal Reasoning
| Paper | Year | Provider | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading 11+ Non-Verbal Reasoning Practice Paper (2012) | 2012 | Durham CEM | Standard |
How parents in Reading typically use these papers
Most families in Reading begin formal 11+ practice in Year 5, after the spring term. A sensible rhythm is one full paper per fortnight under realistic timing, with the in-between fortnight used to revisit the topics that the marked paper exposed as weak. Resist the temptation to drill paper after paper without time to digest mistakes — the children who improve fastest are the ones who can articulate why they got a question wrong, not the ones with the highest paper count.
Because the Durham CEM style is dominant here, expect a particular balance of question types: brisk arithmetic and proportion in Maths; comprehension that rewards careful re-reading rather than skimming in English; and pattern-spotting under tight time pressure in the reasoning papers. The papers below have been chosen to expose your child to that mix.
Mark scheme guidance is included for each paper. Use it not as a grade but as a diagnostic — a single missed question on, say, the nth term of a sequence often reveals a topic gap that would otherwise slip through unnoticed.
For a longer editorial walkthrough of Reading — registration deadlines, qualifying score band, oversubscription rules — read the dedicated Reading parent guide.